Bonamassa, Mule brings different shades of blues to Youngstown
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The first thing I did when I got home from Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre on Sunday was check my hair.
The way Joe Bonamassa and Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes were cuttin' heads last night, I was sure I'd gotten at least a trim.
The co-headlining doubleheader drew more than 4,000 downtown on a warm summer night. Both musicians are steeped in the blues but take it in somewhat different directions.
Wearing a tailored blue suit and sunglasses, Bonamassa is the flashier dresser -- and player. Just about every number in his 12-song, 90-minute set had extended spots where Bonamassa could just wail on a seemingly endless array of guitars.
He's a showman but not an attention hog. His four-piece band (Josh Smith, guitar; Calvin Turner, bass; Lemar Carter, drums; and Lachy Doley, organ/keyboards) and backing vocalists Jade MacRae and Dannielle DeAndrea all got a chance to shine, particularly Doley on opening number "Breakthrough" and "Last Kiss."
Haynes joined Bonamassa on stage for "If Heartaches Were Nickels," and Bonamassa appeared during the Mule's set for Jeff Beck's "Freeway Jam." Rather than trying to "top" each other, it felt more like each musician was being pushed to excel by their respect for the other. And if I'm picking a winner, it might be MacRae for her knockout vocals on "Nickels."
Bonamassa had the far-more polished show and, as the closer, benefited from having a full stage light show. Gov't Mule's light show was a setting sun.
Opening the evening with a 90-minute set of its own, the Mule had a looser, jam-band vibe. Looking at recent setlists from the tour, the first two-thirds of Bonamassa's show is pretty consistent from night to night. Show closer "Soulshine," a Haynes original recorded by the Allman Brothers Band during his tenure with the group, might have been the only song repeated from the previous night.
When I interviewed him a couple of weeks ago, Haynes said if he'd ever played in Youngstown before, it was so long ago he doesn't remember. He prepared something special for his first visit -- a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Youngstown."
Haynes' version had kind of a back-porch, country blues feel to it, as much for his North Carolina drawl as for the arrangement. I'd be lying if I said it was the highlight of the night, but it's the kind of moment that longtime fans of an artist love -- hearing a song they've never played before and likely won't play again.
Haynes leaned into his stints with Dead & Company and Phil Lesh & Friends with a trio of Grateful Dead songs in the second half of the Mule's 90-minute set -- "Bertha," "Loser" and "Shakedown Street." MacRae and De Andrea added vocals to "Shakedown," giving it a bouncy, funky vibe.
Haynes has been playing with drummer Matt Abts since Gov't Mule began in 1994 (and before that in Dickey Betts' band), and those two are just locked in on stage. Bass player Kevin Scott, who joined in 2023, slots in well on bass. And while it's hard to stand out on guitar playing next to Haynes, when Danny Louis shifted to keyboards, his playing was a pleasing counterpoint to those guitar riffs.
Judging by the reaction, Bonamassa fans dominated the crowd, and he has a long history of shows in the Mahoning Valley. That said, I noticed far more Gov't Mule shirts than Bonamassa tees on attendees. And each artist probably left Youngstown with some new fans after winning over the other's supporters.